


Talk To Me

by wlwedi



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Getting Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 14:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11382369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wlwedi/pseuds/wlwedi
Summary: Sam Traynor lives a normal life. She works under the famous Commander Shepard, uses a 6000 credit toothbrush, and falls in love with the bodiless ship's AI. Just like everybody else.





	Talk To Me

“So EDI,” Sam started. She was lying in bed and looking up at the ceiling. Her foot knocked rhythmically against the foot of her bunk and the drive core hummed in the background. “Anything else you’ve been holding out on me? A body? Plans to rule the galaxy?”

 

“A body, no. As for my plans to rule the galaxy, they have not yet been completed. I will keep you updated.” EDI replied, and Sam snorted in response.

 

“Right, well we should start with Reaper domination first, perhaps. Just a thought.”

 

“Perhaps that is for the best, then. That would give me plenty of time to formulate my own plans.” Sam smiled into the dark. EDI’s voice always sounded different when she was joking. It was almost like you could hear her smiling. It felt warm.

 

“Well, alright EDI, I’m going to bed so make sure to take this time to work on that plan of yours.” Sam said, pushing her clock aside and trying to forget how early it was set for.

 

“I will attempt to do so. Goodnight, Specialist Traynor.” EDI said.

 

“Please, call me Samantha.” Sam blurted out.

 

“Of course. Goodnight… Samantha.”

 

“Goodnight EDI.” Sam said, burrowing into the covers to try to hide her blush from the dark. Logically, she knew that EDI was an AI that resided in a warship and that she probably had no interest in Sam past simple friendship. She knew that, but here she was, drifting through space, letting herself dream anyways. Oh, well. She would deal with it in the morning.

 

* * *

 

 

“Samantha, I noticed that you are eating alone. Would you like some company?” EDI’s voice chimed over the mess hall comm. Sam looked up from her rations, which she had been scooting around her plate with her fork.

 

“Oh, EDI! That would be lovely, thank you.”

 

“What is on the menu today, then?” EDI asked.

 

“The same thing I had yesterday, and the day before that, and the week before that.” Sam replied, continuing to push the food around.

 

“Which is?” EDI prompted.

 

“Who knows.” Sam said, snorting at her own joke. EDI hummed in response.

 

“Sometimes I am glad that I cannot eat.” Sam let out a bark of laughter at that, and hoped that the Normandy’s walls were thick enough that Liara and Dr. Chakwas didn’t hear her. “Oh good, I have been modifying my humor heuristics. I seem to be improving.” Sam smiled.

 

“Oh definitely, EDI. But for the record, I appreciated your humor from the start. At least, I appreciated it more than Shepard did.” EDI laughed in response.

 

“Wait, I’ve never heard you laugh before, EDI. Is that new or were you holding out on me again?” Sam teased.

 

“It is, indeed, new. I thought trying it out on you would be the most appropriate.” EDI replied.

 

“And why is that?” Sam asked, drawing a blank on what could make her more qualified than Joker or Shepard.

 

“You made me want to laugh.” EDI said simply, and Sam was stunned into silence.

 

“I- wow I- That’s-” Sam stuttered, trying to think of what the appropriate response is when an AI says _that_. Was there a precedent? The only people she could think to ask would be the quarians and she didn’t think it would go over too well.

 

“Thanks EDI. That means a lot.” was what she settled on. She looked down at her plate to hide her blush.

 

“I am glad that you are pleased.” EDI said, and then paused. “Samantha, I have noticed you are eating at half of the rate you normally do. Have I distracted you too much?”

 

Not wanting to discourage EDI from joining her again, Sam casually said “Oh, no, you’re fine EDI. I’m just not that hungry today, I guess. I should go ahead and get back to work, then.” She stood up and scraped her food into the trash.

 

“Very well, I will speak with you later, Samantha.” EDI said as Sam walked to the elevator, which, by the way, was one of the slowest elevators she had ever encountered. Did it really take that long to go up one deck?

 

She punched the button for the CIC and the elevator jerked to life. Hopefully EDI’s auditory sensors wouldn’t pick up her growling stomach for the rest of her shift, because she really wanted that to happen again.

 

* * *

 

It happened again, and again, and Sam was ecstatic. She had never looked forward to military rations more. Something about EDI’s presence made her forget to care that what she was eating tasted like the color grey.

 

They talked about everything. Sam told EDI about growing up on Horizon, about joining the Alliance, anything EDI wanted to know. In turn, EDI told Sam how it felt when her AI shackles were released, and what it was like to be everywhere in the ship at once.

 

On several occasions, Sam heard EDI refer to her as her friend to other crewmates. It made her both incredibly happy and a little disappointed at the same time. Each time she told herself she should be happy with what she had. EDI cared for her and she cared for EDI so that should be all that matters, right?

 

Sometimes she wished she could be more selfish.

 

* * *

 

EDI was offline, systems were going haywire, the Commander was down on Menae finding the turian Primarch, and Sam had no idea what to do. She was doing her best to counteract the systems failures, but nothing was cooperating.

 

“EDI, you’d better come back online, I swear to-”

 

“Specialist, give me an update.” Shepard said, walking towards her with that swift purpose only the Commander could pull off.

 

“Comm systems are going haywire, Commander! Whatever’s happening is centered on Deck Three.” Sam said. Shepard nodded back at her and headed towards the elevator.

 

“Traynor,” She said, turning around while the doors slid open behind her. “She’ll make it through.”

 

“Thanks, Commander.” She replied with a tight smile, “I sure hope so.”

 

* * *

 

Sam heard the elevator doors slide open and whirring of mechanics approach her before she looked up.

 

“Hello, Samantha.” EDI said.

 

“Hello, EDI. So you _were_ holding out on me about a body, huh?” Sam teased. EDI frowned. That was new.

 

“No, the only other person I have spoken too was Shepard. I came directly to your station. The only reason I did not tell you earlier was because organic response time would have hindered my success in fully integrating with this platform.”

 

“I was joking, EDI, don’t worry. But why did you come to see me first?” Sam asked, leaning back against her console.

 

“You are my friend.” EDI stated simply.

 

“You have other friends.” Sam pointed out. “Joker’s your friend, too.”

 

“Yes, but I am not interested in Jeff.” EDI said, stepping closer. Sam spluttered.

 

“Wait, what? Interested?” Sam’s voice was higher than normal when she spoke.

 

“Yes, interested in a romantic relationship. Did I miscalculate? With your sexual attraction to my voice, and the frequency with which you blush when we speak, I had assumed you were interested in me as well.” EDI’s head tilted to the side as she spoke. It would be adorable and endearing if Sam weren’t on the verge of panic.

 

“I, uh, I mean-” Sam started, not knowing how to tell EDI that she was entirely right.

 

“Just tell her you like her too, Traynor! We all know it.” Shepard called from across the CIC. Sam put her heated face in her hands.

 

“I am. Interested, that is. In you. In a relationship with you. God, I’m making a fool of myself.” Sam said from behind her hands. She hoped that the officers at stations near hers knew how to mind their damn business, unlike a certain commanding officer.

 

“I have seen you make a fool of yourself on many occasions, Samantha. This is not news to me.” EDI said as she tugged Sam’s hands off of her face and into a hug.

 

“Hey, you’re taller than me. No fair.” Sam grumbled into EDI’s collarbone. Or, where her collarbone would be if she had bones.

 

“Then I am at the optimal height to be the big spoon.” EDI said, kissing her on the cheek.

 

“Hmmm, you’re right. I guess there are benefits.” She pulled back to look at EDI and smiled. “Though maybe we should get back to work? We have plenty of time to, ah, discuss things later.”

 

“Then I will see you later sweetie.” EDI said.

 

“Sweetie?” Sam asked.

 

“Do you not like it? I have checked human literature and have pulled a number of romantic pet names. I have seventy-four more options, one of which you might fine more suitable.” EDI said, cocking her head again. God, that was cute.

 

“Oh, EDI. If you want to give me a nickname, you can always call me Sam. That’s what people I’m close to call me.” EDI smiled at that, and Sam melted a little.

 

“Sam…” EDI tested, and really there wasn’t anything she could say that wouldn’t sound good with her voice. “Yes, I like that.”

 

“Glad you guys finally got your act together.” Shepard said, walking towards her terminal. “All it took was EDI getting a body and a hard restart of half of our systems.”

 

“With all due respect, Commander, you try figuring out how to ask out a bodiless AI and then we can talk.” Sam replied. Shepard put her hands up in defeat.

 

“Hey, I’m just glad EDI finally stepped up to the plate.” Joker chimed in over the comm. “She’s been asking me shit about relationships for weeks now!”

 

“Jeff,” EDI started, sounding vaguely threatening. “Later we will have a discussion about privacy, and sharing conversations had _in confidence_.”

 

“That’s okay, EDI.” Sam said, squeezing her hand back. “I think it’s cute.”

 

“And I think _you_ are cute, Sam.” EDI replied, smiling at her. Sam smiled back. It was nice to hear EDI’s smile, but even nicer to see it. She hoped she got to see it for a long time to come.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gay, also kudos and comments are nice and often inspire me to write more :-)


End file.
